Railway car construction



Dec- 17, 1935. w. F. DlETRxcHsoN f 2,024,342

RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 12, 1934 2 sheets-sheet 1 iNVENTORATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W. F. DIETRICHSON RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTIONFiled Jan. l2, 1934 INVENTOR f/[iam /ieirl'cism 77. JVM ArroRNEYPatented Dec. 17, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT 4OFFICE RAILWAY CARCONSTRUCTION Application January 12, 1934, Serial No. 706,372

17 Claims. (Cl. 105-409) This invention relates generally to railway carconstruction and has more specific reference to the construction ofrailway freight car bodies.

, One object of this invention is the provision of .a new and improvedside wall construction for railway cars.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a new and improvedhopper car body construction.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of a new andimproved belt rail construction for railway cars.

Another object is to provide an assembly of the type set forth whereineach of the parts are materially braced and strengthened as regards itsindividual structure and also the unit formed by the parts is providedwith a relatively higher degree of strength to support a load anddistribute the strains to which it may be subjected.

Other objects and advantages of this invention including reducing thecost of manufacture will be apparent from the following descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1is a side elevation of one end portion of a freight car embodying thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2 2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View on the line 3 3, Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional View showing the construction at theside plate of the car; .and

Fig. 5 is a sectional View on the line 5 5, Fig. 4.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the car shown thereinis of hopper type, though this is merely by way of example, andcomprises a body indicated generally at A which is supported on trucksdiagrammatically indicated at B, and a roof indicated generally at C.

The car body underframe comprises center sills 2, channel shaped in theinstance shown, and angle shaped side sills 4, the horizontal legs ofwhich project outwardly as more clearly shown in Fig. 2. Formed in thecar are hoppers of which only one is shown, the same being indicatedgenerally at I-I and having one wall 6 thereof secured to and dependingvertically from the center sill 2 while its opposite Wall 8 slopesdownwardly and inwardly from the side sill 4, to which latter it issecured in any suitable manner.

Adjacent opposite ends of the car are channel shaped posts I2 (one onlybeing shown) which extend between the side plate S and side sill 4 asclearly shown in Fig. 1.

55 Extending between opposite posts I2 and connected thereto is a beltrail comprising an angle I4 one flange I6 of which is slightly inclineddownwardly away from the car body while its -other flange I8 isvertically arranged 4as more va sealing element 28 of paper or the like.and the 15 flanges 22 and 24 are connected with the horizontal flangeI6 of belt rail I4 by suitable fasteners such as the rivets 30.

In the instance shown in the drawings, the side wall above the belt railand between posts I2 20 comprises a single -plate the side edge portionsof which lap the posts I2 and are secured thereto in any suitablemanner, the plate 26 having portions I0, substantially triangular inshape, which extend beyond the posts I2 and are connected 25 with theside plate S and with the ladder 2l. The plate 26 is secured at itsupper edge portion by rivets 3| to the side plate S. Obviously, ifdesired, the side wall section 26 may be formed of a plurality ofpanels. 30

Intermediate posts I2 the side wall of the car is stiifened by aplurality oi posts 32 which extend between the side plate S and the beltrail I4 as more clearly shown in Fig. l. In the instance shown theseposts comprise I-beams, one flange 35 34 of each of which being weldedas at 36 to the plate or wall section 26. The posts 32 have their lowerends resting on the horizontal flange I6 of the belt rail and arepreferably Welded to said horizontal flange as shown at 38. The flange34 40 of each of the posts 32 at the upper end portions thereof isremoved (see Fig. 4) the webs 40 of posts 32 being welded as shown at 42to the Vde pending vertical flange 44 of the side plate S, the lattercomprising a Z-section 46 having an'up- 45 wardly extending verticalflange 48 to which the roof C is connected by suitable means 50. Also,as clearly shown in Fig. 4, the depending flange 44 of the side plateconstitutes the attaching element for the upper edge portions of theside wall 50 section 26.

For stiffening the lower portion of the side wall of the car posts 54extend from the belt rail to the side sill, said posts 54 being I-beamsin the instance shown with their upper end portions en- 55 gaged withthe out-turned flange 22 of the plate 2S. The posts Sil are preferablyvertically alined with certain of the posts 32 (see Figs. 1 and 3) andthe upper end portions thereof are welded to the vertical flange I8 ofbelt rail I4 and to the plate 20 as shown at 56. The lower end portionsof posts 54 have their flanges 581 removed whereby to llt over thevertical langeof the side sill 4 (see Fig. 2) and the lower end portionsof said posts 55 ,are connected in any suitable manner as by welding at@t to the side sill. The posts 513 are also welded to the wall section20 as shown at 52.

The roof C of the car shown may be of any preferred or desiredconstruction, the car being a covered hopper car and hence said roof isprovided with hatchways covered by hatch covers G2 to permit loading thecar.

From the above description it is believed that the construction of thecar of the present invention will be fully apparent to those skilled inthe art witho-ut further elaboration. The present invention provides aconstruction which is strong and durable in service, the side walls ofthe car being suitably stiifened and reinforced not only by theparticular construction at the belt rail of the car but also by thevertical body posts. The construction of the present invention, as willbe apparent to those skilled in the art, is one in which the severalconnected elements are mutually reinforcing. In the specic form shown inthe drawings the belt rail is strengthened by the flanged portions ofthe wall sections while the wall sections themselves are reinforced eachby the other and by the belt rail.

Still further, it can be seen that the form of the invention shown inthe drawings is one in which the joint provided at the flanged portionsof the upper and lower wall sections is virtually concealed by the beltrail and hence is protected thereby, due to the fact that the adjacentlyarranged flanges underlap the inclined flange of the belt rail and areprotected by the vertical leg H3 of the belt rail. The belt rail leg itwhile being substantially horizontally arranged when considered relativeto the vertical leg l B is actually slightly downwardly inclined awayfrom the car body and thus provides for drainage of water therefrom andsaid belt rail, as will be obvious, constitutes a protection means forthe wall section flanges.

The drawings herein illustrate one embodiment of this invention but itis to be understood that they are for illustrative purposes only andvarious changes in the form and proportions of the construction may bemade within the scope of the appended claims without departing from thespirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A car wall construction comprising a side plate, a belt rail, anupper wall section secured to the side plate and having its lower endportion under-lapping the belt rail, and a lower wall section having itsupper end portion underlying the lower end portion of said upper wallsection and connected therewith and to the belt rail.

2. A car wall construction comprising a side plate, a side sill, anangle-shaped belt rail, upper and lower wall sections extending betweenthe side plate and side sill and having adjacent portions thereofoutwardly ilanged and underlying the belt rail and secured thereto.

3. In a car wall constructioma side plate, a side sill, a belt rail, anupper wall section secured to the side plate and having its lower edgeportion flanged and arranged in lapping relation with the belt rail, alower wall section secured to the side sill and having its upper edgeportion flanged in lapping relation with the flanged portion of theupper wall section, means connecting the belt 5 rail and flangedportions of the wall sections, and posts supported by the belt rail andwelded to the upper wall section.

4. In a railway car, a side wall comprising a side plate, a side sill, apost spaced from the end of the cary and extending between the sideplate Vand side sill, a belt rail connected to said post, an

upper Wall section extending between the belt rail and side plate andsecured to said post, said section having a portion thereof extendedbeyond the post and connected to the side plate, the lower edge portionof said section having an out-turned flanged lapping the belt rail, alower wall section having its upper edge portion outwardly flanged tounderly the flange of said upper wall section, and means connecting thebelt rail and flanged portions of said wall sections.

5. In a car wall construction, a side plate, an angle shaped belt railhaving one flange thereof substantially horizontal and the other flangedepending vertically downward, an upper wall section secured to saidside plate and having its lower edge portion outwardly flanged andarranged in lapping engagement with the horizontal flange of the beltrail, a lower wall section having its upper v edge portion outwardlyflanged and arranged in lapping engagement with the flange of the upperwall section, and means connecting the belt rail and the flangedportions of said wall sections, said depending flange being spacedoutwardly 35 relative to the wall sections.

6. In a car wall construction, a side plate, a side sill, posts adjacentbut spaced from opposite ends of the car and extending between the sideplate and side sill, a belt rail, an upper wall sec- 40 tion extendingbetween and secured to the posts and the side plate and belt rail, saidsection having portions of the ends thereof extended beyondV said postsand connected to the side plate, a flange at the lower edge portion ofsaid upper wall section arranged in underlapping relation with the beltrail, a lower wall section connected to the side sill and extending onlybetween said posts and having its upper edge portion outwardly flangedin underlapping relation with the ilange of the upper wall section, andfasteners connecting the belt rail and the flanged portions of saidupper and lower wall sections.

7. In a car wall construction, a side plate, a side sill, posts adjacentthe ends of the car and extending between and connected to the sideplate and side sill, a belt rail extending between and connected to saidposts, an upper wall section extending between the posts and havingportions of the ends thereof extended beyond said posts and connected tothe side plate, a flange at the lower edge portion of said sectionarranged to underlap the belt rail, a lower wall section extending onlybetween said posts and having its upper edge portion outwardly flangedto underlap the flange of the upper wall section, means connecting thebelt rail and flanged portions of said upper and lower wall sections,and a plurality of posts supported by the belt rail and connected to theside plate and to the upper wall section.

8. In a car wall construction, a side plate, a side sill, posts adjacentthe ends of the car and extending between and connected to Ythe, sideplate and side sill, a belt rail extending between and connected to saidposts, an upper wall section extending between the posts and havingportions of the ends thereof extended beyond said posts and connected tothe side plate, a flange at the lower edge portion of said sectionarranged to underlap the belt rail, a lower wall section extending onlybetween said posts and having its upper edge portion outwardly flangedto underlap the ange of the upper wall section, means connecting thebelt rail and flanged portions of said upper and lower wall sections,and a plurality of posts resting on and welded to the belt rail andhaving their upper end portions welded to the side plate.

9. In a car wall construction, a side plate, a side sill, posts adjacentopposite ends of the car and extending between and connected to the sideplate and side sill, and a wall portion between said posts comprising abelt rail extending between and connected to said posts, an upper wallsection secured to the side plate and extending between and connected toopposite posts and having its lower edge portion outwardly flanged inlapping relation with the belt rail, extensions at the upper portions ofthe ends of said upper wall section connected to the side plate, a lowerwall section extending between and connected to opposite posts andhaving its upper edge portion outwardly flanged to underlap the flangedportion of the upper wall section, means connecting the belt rail andflanged portions of the wall sections, posts resting upon and welded tothe belt rail and extending between the belt rail and side plate andwelded to the upper wall section and side plate, and posts secured tothe side sill and belt rail and welded thereto and to the lower wallsection.

10. A railway car side construction comprising an angle-shaped beltrail, body posts resting on and rising upwardly from said belt rail, andupper and lower side wall sections having adjacently arranged flangeslapping one portion of the belt rail and connected together and to saidbelt rail portion, said upper wall section being connected to said bodyposts.

11. In a railway car side construction, an angle-shaped belt rail, bodyposts resting on and rising upwardly from said belt rail, upper andlower side wall sections having adjacently arranged flanges lapping oneportion of the belt rail and connected together and to said belt railportion, said upper wall section being connected to said posts, and bodyposts below said belt rail and to which said lower wall section isconnected.

12. In a railway car side construction, a side plate, a side sill, bodyposts extending between and connected to said side plate and said sidesill, a belt rail extending between said posts, upper and lower sidewall sections between said posts and provided with adjacently arrangedflanges 5 lapping one portion of the belt rail and connected togetherand to said belt rail portion and means for stiffening the upper wallsection comprising a plurality of posts resting upon and rising upwardlyfrom the belt rail and to which said upper wall section is connected.

13. A railway car side wall construction includin a belt rail inclineddownwardly away from the car and upper and lower side wall sectionshaving flanges underlapping the belt rail and connected together and tosaid belt rail.

14. In a car side wall construction, upper and lower wall sections, anangle-shaped belt rail having one leg vertically arranged and spacedoutwardly relative to the wall sections, and anges formed on adjacentedge portions of the wall sections and underlapping and connected to theother leg of the belt rail whereby said belt rail provides protectionmeans therefor.

15. In a car side wall construction, upper and lower wall sections, anangle-shaped belt rail having one leg substantially horizontallyarranged and the other leg vertically arranged and spaced from the sidewall sections, and anges formed on adjacent edge portions of the wallsections and underlapping the substantially horizontally arranged beltrail leg whereby to be protected by both legs of said belt rail.

16. In a railway car side construction, a belt rail, upper and lowerside wall sections having ad- 3R jacent edge portions outwardly flangedand secured to one portion of said belt rail, external posts supportedby and connected to said belt rail portion and rising upwardlytherefrom, said upper wall section being connected to said posts, and4,0 lower posts secured to said lower section and to the other portionof the belt rail and extending downwardly from the latter.

17. A car wall construction comprising a side plate, a side sill, anangle-shaped belt rail, and longitudinally arranged upper and lower wallsections extending between the side plate and side sill and havingadjacent portions thereof outwardly flanged and secured to the beltrail, one flange of said belt rail being arranged substantially parallelwith but spaced from said wall sections.

WILLIAM F. DIETRICI-ISON.

